Systems thinking: Understanding sustainability

This course aims to help learners understand sustainability through systems thinking. By the end of the course, students will be able to explore their understanding of sustainable development, contextualize sustainable development in historical events, analyze values, beliefs, and circumstances in relation to sustainability, and evaluate the congruence between their sustainable development values and behavior. The course teaches skills such as searching for 'system' in sustainable development situations, linking environment and development, and exploring different beliefs about sustainable development. The teaching method involves exploring case studies, historical events, and personal reflections. This course is intended for individuals interested in sustainability, sustainable development, and systems thinking.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Exploring your understanding of sustainable development
• 1 Exploring your understanding of sustainable development
• 2 Searching for ‘system’ in sustainable development situations
• 2 Searching for ‘system’ in sustainable development situations
• 3 Contextualising sustainable development in terms of historical events
• 3 Contextualising sustainable development in terms of historical events
• 3.1 Predictions
• 3.2 Linking environment and development
• 3.3 The Brundtland report
• 3.4 The United Nations Summits and Commission for Sustainable Development
• 3.5 Increasing globalisation
• 4 Sustainable development and sustainability
• 4 Sustainable development and sustainability
• 5 Values, beliefs and circumstances
• 5 Values, beliefs and circumstances
• 5.1 Connections between values, beliefs and circumstances
• 6 Exploring values, beliefs and circumstances in relation to a sustainable development situation
• 6 Exploring values, beliefs and circumstances in relation to a sustainable development situation
• 7 Issues of stakeholding
• 7 Issues of stakeholding
• 8 Some different beliefs about sustainable development
• 8 Some different beliefs about sustainable development
• 9 Values and sustainable development
• 9 Values and sustainable development
• 10 Congruence between your sustainable development values and your behaviour?
• 10 Congruence between your sustainable development values and your behaviour?
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements